Top public scandals

Caught!

When will public officials learn that what they do in private, or over the phone, on email and especially on Twitter will not stay quiet forever? Here, a few of the men and women brought down by very public scandals.

John Edwards and Rielle Hunter

Where to begin? First, the popular Democratic candidate campaigning for the presidential nomination in 2008 confessed to having an affair with Rielle Hunter, who was making videos for his campaign. Edwards, whose wife Elizabeth was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, denied fathering Hunter's child. After bizarre plot twists that included a campaign staffer claiming paternity, and reports from the National

John Edwards and Rielle Hunter

Where to begin? First, the popular Democratic candidate campaigning for the presidential nomination in 2008 confessed to having an affair with Rielle Hunter, who was making videos for his campaign. Edwards, whose wife Elizabeth was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, denied fathering Hunter's child. After bizarre plot twists that included a campaign staffer claiming paternity, and reports from the National Enquirer, the disgraced politician finally confessed to fatherhood. He was charged with campaign finance fraud for payments made to Hunter but was not convicted. ― C.Z. (im R. Bounds/AP Photo; Seth Wenig/AP Photo) less